Bakshaalu/Bobbatlu - Ugaadi Special

Nandana Naama Ugaadi Subhakankshalu !!! Happy Ugaadi !!!

What better way to celebrate Ugaadi than by feasting on Ugaadi Pachchadi and Bakshaalu!

Bakshaalu, also known as Bobbatlu, is a sweet dish made during Ugaadi festival, the Telugu New Year in India.

This is made by blending Chana Dal + Jaggery together & make a stuffing with wheat flour, press it into a Baksham and fry with ghee. And now to the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 Cup - Bellam/Gud/Jaggery (Grated)
1 Cup - Sanaga Pappu/Chana Dal/Bengal Gram
2 Cups - Water (for Chana Dal)
3 - Cardamom Pods (crushed)
1 Cup - Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup - Water (for Wheat Flour)
1 Tbsp - Oil
Ghee/Clarified Butter (for frying)


Method:

* Wash the Chana Dal and pressure cook it with water for 5 whistles.
* When the pressure falls, open the lid and mash the dal into a fine paste.
* Next add Cardamom, Jaggery into the dal and mix. This will make it a bit watery.
* To make the mixture into a solid consistency, put it on a low flame and constantly keep stirring the mixture.
* When the mixture becomes thick like a chapathi dough, turn off the flame and let it cool.
* Make small balls out of the mixture, (the size of a big lemon)

Dal+Jaggery Ball

* Mix the wheat flour with water to make it into a loose chapathi dough.
* Add oil and mix the dough to make it slippery and easy to spread.
* Make little balls out of this dough. (3/4th the size of the ball made with the dal+jaggery mixture).

Flour Ball

* Rub few drops of oil on your palm and put the chapathi dough ball on it and spread evenly on the palm.
*Alternately, rub few drops of oil on a plastic sheet and put the chapathi dough ball on it and spread evenly as shown in the below picture.

Dough spread on a plastic sheet

* Place the dal ball in the middle of it and cover it from all the sides with the chapathi dough.

Before Stuffing

After Stuffing

* Turn the stuffed ball upside down and press it evenly with your fingers into a puri sized Baksham.

Uncooked Baksham

* You can dip your fingers in oil before pressing it. Ensure that the spreading doesn't result in any cracks and the stuffed dal mix doesn't come out.
* Heat a flat, non-stick pan on a medium flame.
* When the pan is hot, spray some ghee on it, place the Baksham on it and let it fry.

Frying The Baksham 

* When it fries on one side, spray some ghee on the other side, turn it and let it fry on the other side.

Fried Baksham

* Transfer it to a serving plate and serve it hot.

Bakshaalu/Bobbatlu

Serves : Makes around 18 Bakshaalu

Serving Suggestions/Tips/Variations:

* If you find grating the jaggery blocks difficult, put them in the microwave for 30 seconds to soften them.
* You can also use sugar instead of Jaggery.
* You can also use all-purpose flour instead of wheat flour.
* You can also use a rolling-pin instead of pressing the stuffed ball with fingers.
* You can also use oil instead of ghee while frying.
* To make it more yummy, serve the Bakshaalu with a teaspoon of ghee spread on it.


Please try this and let me know your valuable comments at way2theheart@gmail.com

Until next time,

Eat & Celebrate Life!
Archana